Strike Witches: Kosun 1950
by CaptainSentry
Summary: The Kosun Peninsula was always a quiet part ever since the Shanghai hive was destroyed, but all that is shattered when the Neuroi reemerged, stronger than ever. Seoul has fallen and the allied forces are holding a desperate defense at Pusan. The 501st Tactical Fighter Squadron, The 'Strikers' Stemming the red tide will be a difficult task, can the 501st live to their namesake?O.C's
1. Chapter 1

**Seoul, South Kosun**

**January 1****st****, 1950**

**Fuso Ground Self Defense Force **

**14****th**** Independent Infantry Division **

"Hara, get some hot water, any more of this cold and this M2 is going to shatter even if you glance at it."

"Why do I always have to be the errand boy? I Signed up to fight Neuroi, not be a delivery man."

"From what I heard you were the best delivery boy in Osaka, so I gave you an appropriate job *Hearty laugh*"

"They have a special place in hell for you Kaba, but lucky for you it's too cold for you to get there, *Laughs*"

"Get goin will ya?"

"Sure boss," Cpl. Hara got out of his fighting position and slung the M1 Garand over his shoulder. As he climbed the white mound and out into the open, the snow pounded his face with the ferocity of hard falling rain. He covered his face so the sharp flakes wouldn't cut his eyes. He made small shuffles as he trudged through the snow until he reached the water heater. He fumbled the bucket as he struggled to keep it still in his mittens. He twisted the tap and placed the bucket underneath. A strong gust of wind slammed into him and he braced himself, using his greatcoat as a shield against the flying ice. He looked at the bucket to see that it was still empty. "Kuso ̄! (Damn!)" He banged on the tank in frustration and tried twisting the tap to no avail. Feeling defeated he kicked the tank in a final act of retribution before turning back and trudging through the sea of white again.

"Where's the water?" . Kaba asked, wondering where the water he requested was.

"Damn thing's broken." Hara replied.

"Well we sure can't use this thing."

"Piss on it if it gets too cold, that seems to work," Hara joked. Kaba shot him a gaze that showed disapproval.

"Just get back in here."

Hara moved back to his position that overlooked to the north, obscured by a white wall that never seemed to end.

"Hara, I'm going to sleep."

"Really, I'm going to have to do this myself?"

"Nothing has been spotted in this sector ever since the Shanghai Hive was destroyed. I'm pretty sure more guys go down from frostbite than Neuroi beams. You'll be fine."

Kaba wrapped himself in the blanket which left Hara overlooking the point. Needing to quench his thirst, Hara pulled out his canteen. He brushed the frost of the cap and untwisted it and took a big swig before setting some down in a cup. Suddenly, something appeared out of the corner of Hara's eye. He glanced out of the hole and looked around but the scenery was still as it was. White. Hara was about to take a sip from his cup when he noticed the water beginning ripple. He held his breath and tried to sense if it was him. When the rippling continued, he took another look at the openness. '**_No…._**' He thought to himself. The white wall was collapsing as the forms of black and red broke through. Instantly, he woke up his partner and told him to get on the radio.

**"GET ON THE HORN, TELL COMMAND NEUROI CONTACT TOWARDS THE NORTH REQUESTING REINFOR-"**They were cut short as a beam sliced through and obliterated their position. The radio that they tried to use still echoed the frantic cries for help.

**"FALL BACK!"**

**"KEEP SHOOTING!"**

**"THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE!"**

**"FALL BACK TO PHASE LINE SHURI, FALL-"**its last show of life before it died.

**Yokosuka Naval Base, Fuso**

***Knock Knock***

"Enter."

***Door opens***

A man stood at the door, his hand towards his head in a salute. "At ease." The man put his hand down and rushed forwards and put a manila folder on the desk before bowing and turning to leave. "Shut the door when you leave," the voice said as the man reached the apex of the door.

"Yes Flight Lieutenant," The man replied as he closed the door behind him. Grabbing the manila folder she opened it and put the folder aside.

"Contact report?" She said to herself before delving into the print.

'**Northern Regimental Headquarters**

** Fuso Ground Self Defense Force**

Report: Units of the 14th IID made contact with unknowns approaching Seoul from the north. Units fell back to Phase Line Shuri but last contact was made at around 0400 Hours, no further contact was heard from them. Unit presumed loss. Unknowns fit the description of Type-7 Walker Types though further information cannot be ascertained at this time. Reports of familiar engagements from across the 37th Parallel. Liberion Marine Corps. Units stationed at Inchon engaged what was described to be a large carrier type. Said units fell back and are now holding at the Pusan defensive line.

Reinforcements are being filed through Pusan Harbor but refugees fleeing have delayed troop deployments. Inclement weather has ceased all air operations so ground units are without air cover. Liberion 7th Fleet is inbound from Guam to assist but estimate 5 days until arrival in the Fuso Sea Region. 567th Pacific Dispatch Fleet is nearby but recent harrying attacks have left the battle group crippled and are now sailing towards Nagasaki.

Estimation of Neuroi Progress towards the Pusan defensive line is 2 weeks before the Kosun Peninsula is loss.'

"Damn… how many were loss." She said to herself. Without saying much more, she took the paper and put it in her coat pocket and made for the door. Grabbing her Officers hat off the rack before closing it.

**Sometime later….**

The car drove through the forest of trees and the snow covered road, she looked for the deviation in the road that lead down another path. When she found it she turned on to it and found herself at a quaint house that was white from the falling snow. As her boots made their way across the soft snow she looked into the driveway and saw the Black Benz. She was here. With haste she climbed up the steps and knocked on the door. She stood there as the snow piled on her hat when the door opened.

"Sakamoto-san," She greeted.

"Miyafuji, what brings you here? Your squadron giving you a headache?"

"Fortunately no, may I come inside?"

"Sure sure, come in."

Flight Lieutenant Yoshika Miyafuji, commander of the 501st Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Fuso Air Self Defense Force moved inside and closed the door behind her. Placing her coat and hat on the rack she dragged her boots on the carpet to be free of the extra snow.

"Sorry about this."

"No its fine, you could use some hot tea after that, please have a seat," Mio gestured to the couch that sat in the living room that had a brick fireplace illuminating the room. "Hijikata, can you make some tea?"

"Why, is someone over?"

"It's Miyafuji."

A man appeared at the top of the stairs and quickly ran down to greet her. "Miss Miyafuji, it's good to see you." Hijikata said with a smile.

"Same with you Mr. Keisuke"

"We've been over this many times, you don't have to call me that. Call me Hijikata or Mr. Sakamoto, though honestly I prefer the latter."

Mio looked at him, "Playing the nice game I see?"

"Just following orders."

Mio placed a kiss on Hijikata's cheek then tapped his face, "Get the tea ready, I don't want Miyafuji to catch a cold."

"Remember, I can't catch colds," Miyafuji reminded her former squadron commander. "How long has it been now?" Miyafuji's gaze towards the kitchen where Hijikata was at work.

"3 years," Mio replied. She sat down on one of the single seaters and gestured for Miyafuji to have a seat in front of her. "Judging by you stopped by without calling, you probably have something important to say?"

"Yes, I have it ri-" Yoshika was cut short as the aroma of tea filled the room.

"Tea delivered as ordered." Hijikata joked as he comedically stood at attention.

"You are dismissed," Mio replied as she took the tray and set it down. She took one of the cups and put it in front of Miyafuji which she graciously accepted.

"This is good." Yoshika remarked after taking a small sip.

"Yeah, I'm not so good at this cooking thing," Mio scoffed. "It's hard to believe that I'm married."

A voice came from the kitchen again. "That's why you have me around."

"I see that I made the right choice." The two laughed and Miyafuji gave it a good laugh as well but her laughs were cut short as the sense of urgency grew.

"About the thing I was going to show you, I have it right here." She pulled out the piece of paper from earlier and slid it across the table.

"What's this?" Mio asked, glancing down it whilst taking another sip.

"Contact report." Miyafuji's voice turned strained.

Mio furrowed her brow as she looked at the top line, "Contact report? Do I look like your commanding offic-" She was cut short as she read the text.

"It's happening all across the 37th Parallel. The Pusan defensive perimeter is the only thing left standing at this moment." Miyafuji said sternly.

"It's like Libau all over again," Mio reminisced about the famed name that the world had given her and her comrades, but no longer can she repeat such a feat, being 25 years old she had already maxed out her magical output. "So what are you going to do?"

She looked at the Flight Lieutenant, clutching the cup in her hands, she looked uncertain. "I haven't been given orders yet, I guess this has command all tangled up. Getting reinforcement to bolster the perimeter is already a difficult task to begin with."

Mio looked down for a moment then set her cup down. She stood up and ran to the phone and picked it up. Miyafuji watched as she dialed the rotaries and began talking in a hush tone. She couldn't make out what she was saying and was thankful being that she did not want to be disrespectful. As Mio put the phone down she sat back down.

"What was all that about?" Yoshika asked.

"Calling some friends, it's nothing that you should worry about." Mio reassured. After taking a final sip, Miyafuji stood up.

"I'd best be getting back to the base, before they list me as missing in action."

Mio gave a hearty laugh and stood up as well. The two moved towards the door and Miyafuji donned her coat and hat. Suddenly, the light patter of feet was getting louder and Miyafuji looked up towards the staircase, curious of the noise. There a small figure stood at the top of the steps. After a moment of eye contact, the figure began to zip down the stairs with speed. Miyafuji kneeled down and opened her arms.

"AUNT YOSHIKA!" The little girl shouted happily.

Picking up the girl and holding her out, "Hey there kiddo!" Hefting the small child. "You've grown for sure," Miyafuji looked at the girl's mother. "How old is she now?"

"Three," Mio replied. Miyafuji then took the girl and handed her to Mio. Taking her finger, she poked the girl on the nose which made the girl laugh and giggle. The child began to pat on her mother's chest, wanting to be let down. The two laughed and Mio gave a sigh. "Saki, if I put you down you go back straight to your room, okay?" The girl nodded and Mio set her down and she began to climb the steps like a cat, not before turning and waving goodbye at Miyafuji. Miyafuji waved and watched as she went out of sight.

"She's so cute, I'm happy for you Sakamoto-san."

Mio sliced her hand through her hair, "She's quite a handful sometimes, kinda reminds me of some people that I know, I thought I was done giving out orders but alas a job is never done."

Miyafuji opened the door and took a quick look outside. The snow had stopped and the sun was coming out. She looked back at her former mentor and said, "Well I'll see you around Sakamoto-san."

"Same with you Miyafuji, thanks for stopping by, good luck by the way." Mio waved as Yoshika entered her car and backed out of the driveway. The long journey back was about to begin.

**Yokosuka Naval Base**

**Sometime later….**

"Asuka, what are you doing!?"

"Just administering a field test Kayo," She tested the firmness and was disappointed. "I'll give you an A minus, and not the good kind of A minus."

"You're really mean!"

"You want a consolation prize?"

"I want my dignity back."

"Get bigger then we'll talk."

"Cut it out you two." A voice barked.

"Jeez Christiane, what with all the tightness, are all Karlslander's like this?"

"If my sister was here, she would rip you a new one Asuka."

"I don't even know why I asked." She replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Where's the Captain? I haven't seen around base and we haven't been called to alert yet," Kayo asked. Soon a car pulled up to the hanger and the three girls could just make out the figure in the car.

*Car door opens*

"What you guys doing milling around?"

"Um… We apologize for our incompetence Flight Lieutenant," Christine stuttered. "We were-"

"Decided to strategically take advantage of a situation ma'am." Asuka interrupted.

"Where are the rest?" Miyafuji asked.

"They're in the command room." Christine replied.

"I see, well follow me, we need to move fast."

"Trouble captain?"

"A mess more like, cmon' we can't keep them waiting." The four entered the building that bore the squadron's emblem. It was blue and had witch brooms arranged in a star pattern, similar to that off the 501st Joint Fighter Wing of the years past. The only difference were the words. Instead of reading 501st Joint Fighter Wing, it read '501st Tactical Fighter Squadron. The bottom portion read 'Strikers'. Put together the form looked like this.

**501****st**** Tactical Fighter Squadron** '**_Strikers_**'

They carry the namesake of a legendary group, it's only possible that they could try to mimic their feats. With this new conflict that has risen from across the sea, it gives more than an opportunity for the squadron to live it to its formers legacy. The 501st JFW and the 501st TFS are no more the same. They will be there to answer the call like their predecessor did before them. Either it be over the green hills of Gallia, the ruins of the ancients in Romanga and Venzia, or the blistering tundra that is Kosun. Their legacy is still to be tested in the skies of battle.

**O.C Bio's so far:**

**Pilot Officer Honda Asuka**

**501****st**** TFS ****_'Strikers'_**

**Striker Unit: North Liberion/Miyabishi F-86J Sabre**

**Familiar: Grey Fox**

**Originally attached to the Fuso Southern Air Defense Wing 'Razorbacks'. She was invited to join the multinational fighter squadron in the summer of 1949. She shows much talent in the air as on the ground. Being talented in almost everything that she does, she's more of the brains of the group. Her hobby is sizing up her squadron mates out of boredom. She's known to have a mental list of their size, ready to use them on short notice.**

**Master Sergeant Kihara Kayo **

**501****st**** TFS ****_'Strikers'_**

**Striker Unit: North Liberion/Miyabishi F-86J Sabre**

**Familiar: Golden Retriever **

**Originally attached to the 364****th**** Pacific Dispatch Fleet, Carrier Amagi. She was just a young girl when she heard of the exploits of the 501****st**** JFW. This inspired her to join the ranks and attended the academy, graduating at the top of her class. She was invited to the 501****st**** TFS after the Amagi was put it in for modernization. She's known as the prudent one around the squadron. Often thinking highly of others, she looks at Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji as a role model, striving to be just like her soon.**

**Pilot Officer Christiane Barkhorn (Not really an O.C. I guess :P)**

**501****st**** TFS ****_'Strikers'_**

**Striker Unit: Fara-air Sabre**

**Familiar: Pointer**

**Originally a part of JG 71 'Richthofen'. Younger sister of famed ace Gertrude Barkhorn, she was comatose during the initial invasion of Berlin. In hospital for quite a while, her older sister made multiple visits to check on her condition. When she finally convalesced, she was often given gifts from her sister's area of deployment. When the 501****st**** was disbanded again, Gertrude became the commander of JG 71. When she turned 12, she surprised her sister with a request that she wanted to become a witch just like her. At first her sister disagreed but finally relented being that it was what she wanted. After flight school she was attached to her sister's command in JG 71. When she was spotted by Miyafuji during a reunion, she was invited to the 501****st**** and accepted saying that she was willing to be with anyone that was friends with her older sister. Adopting the twin tails of her sister's hair, she's often the one that takes her job seriously. Like her sister, she often chastises the other squadron members for being lazy or not doing anything at all. She has a passion for flying in the same skies that her sister once flew in and she shows great skill as she strives to make her squadron mates and her sister proud.**

**A/N: This is CaptainSentry and we are back with something completely different. A new story! (YAY!) It's my take on what the Korean War would've been like so I'll take this opportunity to explain a few things first, the rest can be up to your own mind to decide. Kosun is what I guess to be the Strike Witches name for Korea, I don't know, it made sense at the time but let me know what you think. **

**The Fuso Army and Navy have been divided up into three separate branches. The FGSDF (Fuso Ground Self Defense Force), FMSDF (Fuso Maritime Self Defense Force), FASDF (Fuso Air Self Defense Force). With the advancing times, Fuso's weapons were slowly becoming inadequate for their task. In response, Fuso asked the United States of Liberion to supply them with weapons so that is why you see M2's and M1 Garand's on the backs of Fuso Soldiers. The Maritime unit still maintain their ships from the IFN but the ships will be modernized to cater to the advancing technology. Heavily based around the JSDF with some elements of the past still remaining. But you might be wondering, why has the military been restructured. Good question, glad you asked. The members of Parliament began to think about the functions of the Imperial Army and Navy. With the emergence of new hives in mainland Asia, the Parliamentary leaders saw fit to revamp the military as well as modernize, combining the Imperial Army Aviation and Navy Aviation into one body, forming the Air-Self Defense Force. With this new structure, they redesignated themselves as the Self-Defense Forces as to protect the homeland from Neuroi incursion.  
**

**More character bios will be coming soon as more characters will be introduced and another thing. I need to come up with a title, heh that's always the hard part, but I hope you guys enjoyed this and if you did please, leave a review and critique because it's always appreciated!**


	2. Kosun Background

Hello there, sorry no chapter today but posting a background so you guys can get a feel for the situation. So without further ado, let's begin.

To start with, the Kosun Peninsula is by what you can guess, mirrored off the Korean Peninsula in the real world. Nothing has changed much in this iteration so we'll get on with the timeline of everything that has happened so far.

From what we know, the Neuroi war still continues from it's outbreak in 1939. Everything is as it was in the show, at least chronologically. The only deviation is what happened after the Movie, which was in 1945. After that, this is what I came up with to what happened. The Allies have only taken back 1/4th of Karlsland and the surrounding area. Neuroi attacks in Afrika still occur from time to time but are easily defeated by local forces. By this time, the etherjet striker units created by the researchers in Neue Karlsland are in full production and are being distributed to new Jet unit's such as JV 44, (Although the unit was created for battlefield testing of the Jet Striker) During all this time, Karlsland decided to forward their research to the other allied nation but only to discover that they had their own Etherjet programs. Soon the Britannians were the first other allied nation to unveil their newest creation, the Meteor. The Liberion introduced the P-80 Shooting Star and then soon later, the F-84 Thunderjet. Orussia, developed the Mig-9. As these new Etherjet's were introduced to witch unit's and fighter unit's respectively, work began on improving the design and the engineers at North Liberion Aviation developed what will become the F-86 Sabre, which first test flew in 1947. But as this breakthrough happened, terrible news arose out of Asia. As seem to be returning with a vengeance, Neuroi Hives appeared over Shanghai, once again bathing the city in flames. The Allies had a new front to deal with and with a hive appearing so close to the Fuso Mainland, it shocked the members of National Diet (Japanese/Fuso Parliament) Seeing that the Fuso military has not updated their weaponry and arsenal since the outbreak of the war, it sought the United States of Liberion for assistance. New weapons from the powerhouse of the allies began to flow into Fuso and unit's were modernized with the standards that made up the U.S. Army. Seeing this, the Diet realized that Fuso's military needed to be revised, no longer were they an empire as the Neuroi threat loomed across the sea did the Diet decided along with the modernization came a change in name. All the IFN and IFA unit's were melded into a centralized force that can respond quickly in the case of an attack, this force became known as the Self-Defense Forces. (In the context for what it is, the SDF in the real world was created to help bolster Japan's defences in the case of an attack from the soviets, being that no soviet's existed and Japan was on the side of the allies, consider this to be a glorified name change if to say)

Realizing that the Neuroi can push through the Kosun Peninsula to get a launching board to attack the Fuso Mainland, the allied command decided to station additional troops to help bolster the Republic of Kosun Army. (Since communism never existed, or never spread, Kosun/Korea is it's own Republic, based on the real South Korea) But an operation destroyed the Shanghai Hive and thought to bring the Asia threat to an end, but the allied command was weary, aware of what happened in Venzia years past, the unit's were still stationed in Kosun just incase something happened and they would need to fight again. By the time this happened, Orussia introduced it's newest Fighter/Striker Unit, the MiG 15.(1949) As winter of 1949 rolled around, allied lines in Kosun began to lax, nothing had appeared since the Shanghai hive was destroyed which leads to the present time(Story arc) when the Neuroi suddenly attacked and pushed the allied forces to the Pusan Defensive line. (Pusan Perimeter in real life)

And this is where the story leaves off, I'm currently writing the next chapter to Kosun: 1950 so stay tuned but I hope that this filled any gaps and answered any question that anyone had. This is CaptainSentry and I'll see you guys in the sky!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N's: Welcome back everyone! We are back with another chapter of Kosun: 1950. We've been introduce to a new cast of characters as well as some old ones, but without further ado, let's get into it shall we?**

**Chapter 2: Cold Winter **

The cheery faces of the girls gave Yoshika reassurance as she walked in. Christiane, Asuka, and Kayo branched off and took their seats alongside their comrades. One of the witches slid over and leaned in close to Christiane. "What took you guys so long?" The witch asked. Christiane gaze glanced over to their commander. The witch leaned back, content with the answer.

"Attention everyone." The sound of Miyafuji's voice brought the room to silence. After waiting for the last bits of sound to die down, she continued. "You are probably wondering why I gathered you here today."

"Are you getting married?" One witch piped up.

"No Kusomoto, not that." The witch sank down in her chair as light laughs were had.

Miyafuji cleared her throat and continued, "I've recently gotten a report from the higher up at command, there seems to be a situation." Miyafuji felt as all eyes lock on her as she prepared to finish of the statement. "The Neuroi have struck the Kosun Peninsula." She watched as the all the witches froze for a second before looking at each other. "Command though has not given us any orders of deployment." Just as those last words came out of her mouth, the room gazing seemed to stop. The witches sat down again and some breathed a sigh of relief. "That said, this does not give us the excuse to let our guard down." Her tone of voice began to sharpen. "So as preparation for any order and to be ready when the time comes, we'll be performing a combat exercise today," She checks her watch. "Starting now, clean up a bit and head to the flight line by 0300, anybody late runs 10 laps around the airfield." She waited for the stressed groans to come after the last bit, but strangely no one seemed to vocalize themselves, they just all rose from their seats and shuffled out of the door. Miyafuji sighed and followed them out.

"Kosun? That's really close, like I mean creepy level close, you don't even begi-"

"Calm yourself Claire, your jitteriness is going to cause a mid-air collision, you don't want to break your striker again do you?" Asuka interjected. Claire sighed nervously and continued to walk. The girls continued until they reached their quarters, they hastily began to dab some water on their faces from the sink and some changed out of some of their clothing items before donning new ones.

"Do you think it's going to be cold?" Kusomoto asked while hefting a thick jacket in her hands. Her squadron gaze at her with 'what do you think?' written on their face. She brought the jacket to her face to hide her redness.

"We good? Let's get to the flight line before the Captain yells at us." Christiane urged. Soon the witches were filing out of the door and out into the cold air. They made their way down to the hanger where Miyafuji was waiting.

"Alright, nobodies missing?" The witches looked to their left and to their right and shook their heads. "Good, we'll be performing a mock engagement, I've told the ground crews to raise the target balloons, you'll see them when we get there," Kayo raised her hand. "Officer Barkhorn will be flight lead." She put her hand down. Taking one final glance, she confirmed that no one had anything to say before clapping her hands together. "ALRIGHT! SADDLE UP!" The witches dispersed and ran to their launching stations, each one had flight tech waiting for them. They jumped in and soon, a blue aura permeated around the hanger. The techs began calling out conditions.

"Magic seal steady."

"Engine output is outreaching 100%"

"No anomalies detected, cleared for flight operations."

A tech glanced over at Miyafuji, giving the thumbs up. She nodded and announced, "Miyafuji Yoshika, launching!" She kicked her engines into high power and zoomed out of the hanger as soon as the clamps released. Soon the other witches began to launch off and formed up on their squadron leader who was waiting above the base. Once she took a mental headcount, she made a comm check, "All units check in."

"Striker 2, Pilot Officer Barkhorn reporting in."

"Striker 3, Pilot Officer Asuka, coming up on your wing."

"Striker 4, Warrant officer Kusomoto."

"Striker 5, Master Sergeant Kayo, forming on your 3 o' clock"

"Striker 6, Sergeant Vaughn reporting."

"Okay, here's the situation, target balloons should be popping up so if you see one, take it down, the operation will end when all balloons are destroyed."

"Sounds easy enough." Christiane remarked with confidence.

"But…." Yoshika continued. Kusomoto flew in and leaned in close.

"You had to say something didn't you." She snarked. Christiane blushed slightly in embarrassment before telling Kusomoto to edge off so they don't collide.

"You have to destroy all targets in 3 minutes." The group recoiled at the goal.

"WHAT!"

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS?"

"THERE HAS TO BE 100 TARGETS! THERES NO WAY WE CAN DESTROY THEM ALL!"

"You guys can do it, if you work together and don't miss, this shouldn't be a problem." Miyafuji continued calmly. "I'll be up here and watching so good luck, the first target is coming up now." She pulled up and left her squadron in limbo as they looked ahead of them.

"Formation Victor!" Barkhorn shouted. She fired the first shot from her MG42 and watched as the balloon exploded.

[Radio: That's it, just 99 more to go!]

"*Sigh* Asuka, take 4 and 5 and swing around the back, we'll meet in the middle."

"Roger that, Kuso, Kayo, form up on me."

"Roger that!"

"Vaughn, you're with me."

"Roger that ma'am."

Balloons rose out of the clouds and the witches engaged as they zoomed in and out of the clouds.

"5 targets ahead! Vaughn, take the last two, I'll take the first three, break!" The two witches split off and attacked with ferocity. Claire fired a burst from her M1919 and sent the first balloon burning down before performing a high roll and coming back and firing on the second balloon, sending it down to fiery end.

"Both targets taken down."

"Confirmed, nice job Vaughn." Barkhorn complimented as she flew through the falling pieces of the first balloon. Pulling up from her run she spotted the 2nd balloon and rolled over and dived down firing her weapon. The balloon melted under the fire and exploded. "Scratch two." She confirmed before performing an Immelmann and firing her rounds into the last balloon. "Scratch three." She muttered tallying the last kill. She pulled up to avoid the flames and from the other side came Vaughn. They pulled up in unison and began to spiral upwards, their contrails leaving a helix formation in their wake.

"All targets destroyed."

"Right, let's keep going, we're running the clock here."

"Roger that." The two leveled out and kicked their units into afterburner before zooming off into the clouds.

* * *

**Asuka's flight**

"Kayo, balloon to your six!"

"I see it!" *Fires M1919* "Target down!"

Asuka scanned the area as more balloons appeared. "They seem to be clustering together," she thought for a moment as her squadron mates fired away, shooting at the balloons passing them. Suddenly, she had a stroke of genius. "Everyone, tighten formation."

"EH?!" A shrill cried echoed over the comm system. "But we haven't even performed that maneuver yet." Kayo cried frantically.

"It's not too late to learn, form up!" The three formed a tight cluster as they maneuvered through the sea of white. "Kayo point to the 2 o'clock, Kuso point to the eleven, anything that flies in front of it blast it."

"Roger that." The trio flew up and realigned themselves for an attack run.

"Here we go." Asuka grinned as she brought the aim sight to her eye. The first balloon rose out of the clouds as she pulled the trigger. ***Bang Bang Bang*** She fired a burst from her Type 99 auto cannon and watched as the balloon exploded. "One down!"

Hearing the elation in Asuka's voice, Kayo kept scanning her sector until suddenly two balloons appeared in her field of vision. Without hesitation she pulled the trigger on her M1919 and ran a line through the balloon formation, effectively cutting them in half. A sudden flood of excitement rushed through her as she watched the balloons fall. "I got two!" The formation kept on their straight pass and the trio fired away at the balloons which were rising one after the other. In their wake they left smoldering rubber pieces and the scent of cordite. The clock was running down, 1 minute remaining.

"How many are left?" Kuso asked quickly.

"One left!" Barkhorn shouted. The two formations came together as one as they searched the soup for the last balloon.

"Did anyone miss?" Kayo asked as the condensation exited her mouth.

"I don't think so, we've managed to bag anything that we saw." Vaughn added. The witches scanned, not minding the time until their radio's crackled.

[Radio: You guys have 30 seconds left.]

"**UGH! WE CAN'T FIND IT!**" Barkhorn shouted in frustration. The witches began to look solemn until their leader came in again.

[Radio: Look above you.]

The witches pointed their heads upwards and saw the last balloon, hovering just above the clouds.

[Radio: 15..14..13..]

"KICK IT!" Asuka ordered. The witches stopped abruptly and began to zoom climb up to the balloon. The clouds rushing passed them as they climbed, they all centered the balloon in their sights.

[Radio: 10..9..8..]

*Click*

"Huh?" *Click Click*

"I'm out of ammo!" Kayo cried. The other began to pull their triggers, their weapons emitting the dreaded clicking.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kuso said in disbelief.

[Radio: 7..6..5..]

"HURRY!" ***BOOM* **the balloon shattered as the fiery remains began to fall around them.

"Great shot Barkhorn!" Vaughn said with elation. Christiane turned and looked her squadron mates in the eye.

"I didn't do anything, that shot came from somewhere else."

[Radio: **Zero**.] A mysterious voice said.

"Who is this?" Kuso asked as she looked around the sky.

[Radio: Look towards the sky.]

The witches turned their eyes towards where the balloon once was and saw the silhouette pass above them. They watched the figure enter a cloud and loss sight of it once again.

"Where did it go?" Vaughn wondered as she squinted her eyes.

"Look behind you…." A soft voice said. Vaughn turned and almost turned white as the figure looked directly at her.

"**AHHH!**" Vaughn cried before covering her mouth.

"Jeez Vaughn, do you want someone to hear you down there?" Asuka joked. The mysterious person began to speak again.

"Can I see your commanding officer?" The soft continued.

"Um… sure, we'll take you to her." Christiane agreed to the request, albeit hesitatingly. After Vaughn had cooled from her scare, she and the rest escorted the mysterious girl to their commanding officer who was not far.

"Who is this person?" Asuka whispered to Barkhorn's ear. She turned to her and shrugged and told her to focus on flying straight. Asuka looked back and couldn't help but notice her skin. White as the clouds around her and whiter than the snow on the ground. She seemed to humming a song that she couldn't figure the lyrics to, believing them to be in another language. Soon the group reached their squadron leader who was talking with the ground crews before she ceased and turn her gaze towards them.

"We have returned ma'am." Christiane saluted. Miyafuji's gaze never seemed to be interrupted from the newcomer as she floated over to her until she was face to face with the individual. The witches watched as the two looked at each other.

"It's been a while '_Pilot officer_' " The girl said softly.

"Same with you '_Flying officer_' "Miyafuji replied, her eyes beginning to water.

"Psst… what's going on?" Kayo asked the witches around her, they just gave the usual shrug and continued to watch until the saw their commander turn towards them.

"Ladies, I would like you to meet an old friend of mines," She grabbed the shoulders of the girl and turned her to the squadron. "This is Squadron leader Sanya V. Lityvak, commander of the 470th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment based out of Vladivostok."

"Hello everyone," Sanya introduced herself.

"So what brings you here?"

"I bring something but it's best if I told you on the ground, my MiG 15 is very temperamental."

"Fuso winter not to your liking I see?" Yoshika joked. "Alright, everyone return to base."

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

**Back in the squadron room**

"This is some good tea," Sanya remarked as she takes another sip. "You are quite a talented tea brewer Officer Kayo."

"T..Thank you ma'am, I'm glad you like it." Kayo blushed before moving around and picking up the empty tea cups around the room.

"So what is that you wish to give me Sanya?"

Sanya brought out a folder and set it down. Yoshika picked it up and looked at its contents. "She's here, right now?" Sanya nodded and stood up and moved towards the door, opening it. The rest of the squadron members stood up and looked at the figure standing next to Sanya. There, clutching a duffel bag in her arms and in a uniform similar to Sanya's, was a girl with hair as white as the snow outside.

"C'mon, don't be shy," Sanya gestured the girl to come forwards which she did shyly. Yoshika moved herself in front of the witch and introduced herself.

"Hello there, I'm Flight Lieutenant Yoshika Miyafuji. I welcome you to the 501st Tactical Fighter Squadron." She said as she outstretched her hand. The witch raised her hand and slowly pushed her hand forwards until both of their hands met. "May I ask what your name is?"

Looking up, the witch backed away and set her duffle bag down and saluted. "Warrant officer Veronika Ivanovna Tselikov, 470th Guards Aviation, Vladivostok."

"Well nice to meet you Officer Tselikova, it will be an honor to fly with you."

"T..thank you ma'am." The girls picked up her duffel bag and exited the room and waited outside.

"She's quite the shy one." Yoshika remarked.

Sanya nodded her head, "Yeah, she was one of the new arrivals to the unit. She's very much to herself most of the time but she does lighten up when she's flying." Sanya smiled and looked towards the door. Yoshika put her cup down and gestured for Chris to come forwards.

"Chris, Kayo, show our newest arrival to the sleeping quarters and help her get unpacked."

"Right, we're on it." Christiane replied before gesturing to Kayo to follow. Before they left, Sanya stopped Chris and looked at her.

"You look familiar, I've seen you around before."

"Excuse me ma'am?" Chris replied with a puzzled look.

"What's your name?"

Chris, taken back by the sudden question hastily answered it. "Pilot Officer Christiane Barkhorn ma'am." She watched as Sanya's eyes grew wider at the mention of her name.

"You're Gertrude's little sister? My gods you've grown so much, and a witch too? I wonder how your sister took it."

"She wasn't happy at first, but she finally let off and I joined when I turned 12."

"Well I'm glad to have met you and if you can, say hi to your sister for me."

"I will, now if you will excuse me ma'am, Kayo let's go."

"Right behind you." The two left the room and the two witches listen as they heard the latter talk to the new arrival before hearing the footsteps get farther and farther away. Yoshika then turned her gaze to Asuka, Kusomoto, and Vaughn who still remained.

"You are dismissed," She said. The three looked at each other and put their feet together before heading out the door and going down the same direction the other had went. She then turned back to Sanya who stood gingerly as she waited for her to say something. "We can discuss in my office, this way." The two made their way to her office, closing the squadron room door behind them as they left.

* * *

**Barracks**

"This is where the squadron sleeps, my bed is on the far end, Kuso's is over there, Asuka's bed has the posters on it, Kayo's is right over here, and Vaughn's has the one across from you." Christiane said as she showed Veronika her new bed. The witch nodded and placed her duffel bag down and began to unpack.**  
**

"You need help with that?" Kayo asked cheerfully. The witch reluctantly rose her head and looked at Kayo in the eye. Kayo felt the sense of loneliness as Veronika looked at her before shaking her head. She blinked to clear the tunnel vision before saying. "I'll get some pillows and bed sheets." She said quickly. Chris nodded as Kayo left the room. There they were, just the two of them.

"You don't talk much do you?" Barkhorn asked. The witch shook her head again as she stacked her clothes' neatly. Barkhorn began delving into her mind to come up with more things to break the eerie silence. "So what made you join the Witch Corps?" She asked again, trying desperately to get a least a single word out of the new arrival. Veronika picked up a pile of clothes' and tried to open the chest at the front of her bed. Barkhorn quickly rushed forwards and opened the latches on the box and opened it. The witch just stood still before bending down and putting the pile at bottom.

"Thank you…." She replied softly. The first word she's heard when she's not talking to a commanding officer.

"Uh, no problem, don't be afraid to ask for help." Veronika, putting the last pieces of clothing in the chest looked at Chris.

"I will, thank you for everything." Her face beet red that did not come from the heat of the room. She made her way around the bed and sat down. Chris, enchanted by the way the girl walked seemed inclined to follow but simply stayed put. "She saved me." She whispered.

Chris, her attention peaked, moved in closer and sat on the bed nearby, "Excuse me?"

"She saved me," Veronika repeated, this time with more depth. Chris, bewildered by the enigma that this girl is stayed silent and waited for the girl to continue. "I was just a little girl then, I used to do the things that little girls do, play princess, sing, dance, and laugh," Veronika paused and sighed before continuing. "I was looking outside my bedroom window, looking at the stars above, they were always so beautiful in winter. Until… '**_They_**' came." She took a longer pause this time. "I remember the sky being black, people screaming and crying, I looked around for my father as I heard him scream my name. I called out for him but the screams seemed to drown out my cries. Then '**_it_**' appeared, its shrill cry made me cover my ears and scream so I wouldn't have to hear it. The sound… oh god the sound." She began to choke on her words as she continued, Chris just sat and listened, solidified to her spot. "I felt the heat, it looked so far away but it felt as if I was touching it. The cries of people amplified as the earth exploded around me, I felt something grab my shoulder, and I looked up and saw a soldier standing right above me. He told me to get up but I told him that my father was still out there, without saying anything he hoisted me up and carried me away, I tried to fight him off but me being a young girl, there wasn't much I could do. I could hear my father's voice calling my name, I cried out again as they put me in the back of the truck, I reached out for him but watched as the beam fell."

After this, her eyes became red and puffy, the lines down her face where the tears fell. "I couldn't hear my name anymore, everything in the world just fell silent as I watched what the burning pit where my father once stood until I was jolted back to reality by the sound of gunfire. The soldiers around began shooting into the sky as the people I was with cried and prayed to god, they yelled at the truck to move but it stayed it's ground. I saw the red flash and closed my eyes. I was going to hear my name again, I was going to be with him soon," She paused to repose herself, wiping the excess moisture from her eyes. "I waited, and waited, and waited, but nothing happened, suddenly I heard people beginning to cheer and the truck jerking forward. I opened my eyes and saw white falling to the ground, I thought it was snow but was misconceived of that notion when I still saw the flames around me. There was another sound that I could just make it over the sounds of war and it was the sound of a faint drone. I looked up to see the moon and something silhouetted against its bright light and I watched it as it flew gracefully above the carnage. The flames illumining her underside, her green antenna's complimenting her grey hair. This was the person who saved me, an angel high above and heard the cries of the innocent and gave them salvation. The truck was far from where it once was as I saw the outline of the city get farther and farther away until I couldn't hold my eyes up any longer."

"My god…." Where the only words to come out of Chris's mouth, thus ending Veronika's soliloquy.

"I found myself in a refugee camp far away from the city, I heard stories amongst the people about the '_White Lily of Volgograd_' talking about how she saved the city, was she the one that I saw that night?" She paused again and looked around the room before putting her head down. "I joined when I turned 13. After graduating flight school, I was pulled aside and told that I would be tasked to the 470th. On the first day of arriving we were doing morning roll call when I saw her again."

***Flashback***

"Pavlovna?"

"Present!"

"Alexi?"

"Present!"

"**Tselikov?**"

"**Present!**"

The base adjutant looked at his clip board before climbing onto the podium. "Being that all you are here, allow me to introduce your new squadron commander. Everyone salute the 'White Lily of Volgograd' Squadron Leader Sanya Vladimirovna Lityvak." The woman gracefully took the stage and looked over the crowd that stood rigidly at attention. She cleared her throat and began to address the crowd.

"The motherland thanks you for your service and for everything that you've done. We're all here for the same reason, all of us have lost something, friends, families, our homes. I lost my home, I lost the people I cared about and that is why you see me standing before you today. All of you will become aspiring witches one day, as words from my former squadron leader she said this, '**_there's nothing a witch can't do_**.'"

***Present time***

"There's nothing a witch can't do." She repeated. "I finally found her, the girl that saved me those years ago was now my commanding officer, my leader, my mentor."

"Wow…." The sound of Kayo's voice broke Chris free.

"Wha…how long have you've been sitting here?" Chris asked.

"I came back and heard Veronika talking to you so I just sat down and listened."

"I hope that answered your question Pilot Officer." Veronika said softly. Chris nodded and stood up and began to make for the door before looking back.

"Thanks for talking to me Veronika, hopefully you find yourself welcomed here and one more thing."

"Hm?"

Chris broke away from the door and moved her right hand in front of her. "Welcome to the 501st." Her hand ready to receive a handshake. Veronika approached cautiously and grabbed the hand and gave a firm shake before letting go. With it finally done, Chris took one final look around, "I'll be walking on the flight line, holler if you need me." Before leaving the room. Kayo stood and looked at Veronika who gazed back at her. Slowly, Kayo saw as a small smile began to mold onto Veronika's face, Kayo could do nothing but smile in return and looked at the bed that Veronika worked on.

"I've brought the blanket and pillows, would you like the fluffy one or the one that's stiffer?" Kayo asked as she began to bombard Veronika with questions.

"I don't mind."

"These beds are kind of stiff so I would go with the fluffy one, un-unless you want this one? I mean that's okay too!"

Veronika's face turned red and she began to laugh at the question and self-answering beginning presented to her. She repeated once again, "*laugh* Once again I don't mind Officer Kayo"

"Ah! Please, just call me Kayo!"

Veronika giggled again, "*Giggle* Okay, **_Kayo._**" Kayo grinned as she continue her bombardment of question. From down the hallway, the two '**_Strike Witches_**' heard the laughs and giggles coming from the room.

"You were right, she's catching on pretty quickly."

"I knew I've seen her before, I can't forget that face when I looked down after destroying that Neuroi. I remembered her face when I was inspecting the new arrivals, those same eyes that looked at me when I was flying over were now saluting me, calling me '_ma'am_'. I knew she has potential so I sent her to you."

"She'll be in good hands, my cast of characters are certainly the type."

"Kinda reminds you of the old days."

"Yeah…It's good to see you again Sanya-san."

"Same with you Yoshika, I'll come by more often."

"I'll be sure to have Kayo brew more tea."

"*Laugh* Yeah…." As the two looked out the window, the snow began to fall again, men began running about, covering aircraft that were still on the tarmac. One final roar of an engine was the only music before the base fell back to its tranquil state. As night fell, the snow stopped again and the stars in the sky shown through their transparent barricade. The hum of an engine makes its way across the sky, along with it the melodic harmony of a song, chords beautifully crafted together to make the sounds of angels. Christiane, sitting in a chair in the hanger looked up at the moon, its light casting a silhouette of a figure flying in its path. Chris sighed and took a sip of some tea before saying,

"Keep it up Veronika, keep it up."

**End**

**A/N's: I would like to take this opportunity to express something I've felt while writing this story. Your families and friends that you've known all your life. What do you do when their gone? How can one cope with such tragedy? It amazes me how people who have gone through so much still carry on and live on. That shows the strength of the human spirit, capable of surviving through insurmountable odds and still emerging on the other side. It's quite fascinating to say the least. But I digress, I will be putting some notes down below to help explains something's so let's start off with some OC bios.**

**O.C. Bio's**

**Warrant officer Kusomoto Maki**

**501****st**** TFS '****_Strikers_****'**

**Striker Unit: North Liberion/Miyabishi F-86J Sabre**

**Familiar: Fuso/Japanese Bobtail**

**Often called 'Kuso' which is just a shortened version of her last name, Kusomoto volunteered to join the 501****st**** from her existing unit, the 3****rd**** air wing based out of Misawa. After hearing the stories of witches while still in school, she sought to become one of them and enrolled in the academy when her magical power manifested. Known as being a bit laid back but not so much as Asuka, her squadron mate, she's considered the middle ground of the group, bridging the gap between Barkhorn and Asuka. She has a massive joy for flying and is known to do aerobatic maneuvers without authorization, but Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji allows it as long as she does hurt herself or anyone else. **

**Sergeant Claire T. Vaughn**

**501****st**** TFS '****_Strikers_****' **

**Striker Unit: North Liberion F-86 Sabre **

**Familiar: Northern goshawk**

**A Liberion hailing from California, she's often seen as the 'newbie' (even though she's been in the squadron as long as everyone else) of the group, probably by her rank. Claire was a transfer, originally destined for the 4****th**** Fighter Wing, which was led by none other than Wing Commander Charlotte Yeager. When asked if she wanted to be transferred to a multinational unit, she took the opportunity and found herself in the 501****st****. Her personality is quite quirky to say the least, easily startled when she's not aware, she often takes on an innocent, helpless girl. That façade changes when in the sky, a crack shot and one not likely to miss, she can put rounds on target with whatever weapon you give her (With proper training of course). **

**Warrant officer Veronika Ivanovna Tselikov**

**501****st**** TFS '****_Strikers'_**

**Striker Unit: Mikoyan-Gorgevich MiG-15**

**Familiar: Siberian Cat**

**Her story is one of tragedy. Resident of Volgograd and lost her father when the city was attacked in 1943, she remembered the story of the 'White Lily of Volgograd' as she drifted from camp to camp. As she grew up, her fascination about the witch that saved her kept in her mind as she went through flight training once her magic manifested. She was coincidentally, either by mistake or design attached to the 470****th**** Guards Aviation led by Squadron Leader Lityvak. Finally meeting the person that saved her many years ago, she strived to be just like her, even adopting singing when on patrol at night. Knowing that she had potential, she was transferred by Major Lityvak personally to the 501****st**** and is now the squadron's night witch. She's often shy and in keepings to herself but she does have moments where she laughs and talks to the people around her. She tries not to remind herself of the past but she does have flashbacks to what happened 7 years ago. **

**Some other things to note: I've changed the name of Stalingrad to its present day name of Volgograd, for some strange reason the SW wiki still list it as 'Stalingrado' which never made sense because communism did not exist. In the bio of Claire, I put down that she was to be attached to the 4****th**** fighter wing led by Shirley. In real life, the 4****th**** Fighter Interceptor Wing of the Korean War did have Chuck Yeager as a commander before it became the 4****th**** Fighter Wing. I used the latter because it saved space, and plus it sounded cooler.**

**Well anyway, that is it for today's chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I sure had a blast writing this, even though I did get teary eyed at some parts. Please leave a review and a critique because it's always appreciated! This is CaptainSentry and I'll see you in the skies!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N's: We are back with another chapter to Kosun: 1950, usually when I write this, I usually write this first before actually writing so I wonder what I can create. So enough of this waiting, let's get moving!**

**Chapter 3: Reunion**

**Yokosuka Naval Base**

**"**Control this is Striker 2, over flight of southern air corridor has been completed."

[Radio: Control copies, standby for further orders.]

'**_What more is there to do?_**' Christiane thought to herself. Suddenly the voice returned.

[Radio: Striker 2, return to base, your patrol is over.]

"Roger that control, returning to base." She regressed her finger of her headset and smiled before doing a small barrel roll before jetting back to base.

Miyafuji was in her office, the fire place burning at high intensity. Not much could be done about the cold but that didn't stop her from doing her work. As she scribbled her signature on the last few papers, a knock took her out of her concentration.

"Enter," She said sternly. The door creaked open and she felt as the cool air pushed the heat from the room. A man stood at the frame and had his hand to his head in a salute.

"Captain." The man greeted, Yoshika shot him a gaze of 'what do you want' before actually saying those words. The man rushed forwards and placed another manila folder on the desk before bowing and walking out, closing the door behind him. She slid the folder and looked at its front.

'**_For your eyes only_**' stamped in red. She undid the clasp holding the opening and reached in to feel a single sheet of paper. She pulled it out and looked what was written on it.

**Northern Regimental Headquarters**

**Fuso Ground Self Defense Force**

**Address to: Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika**

**Unit: 501****st**** Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Strikers'**

_Flight Lieutenant, information coming in and out of the front is limited at best, plus letting out word to the public will raise up concerns so we have specifically address this to you. Do not under any circumstances divulge the contents of the message below to any unauthorized personal, this is only to be shared amongst you and your squadron members. _

There was break in the ink before in continued again.

_The defensive perimeter around Pusan has been holding for the past week. Supreme allied command has realized in order to ease the pressure, a second front is needed to be open and they are looking at the port of Inchon. Liberion Marine Corps unit's previously occupied in but were pushed out to sea after a massive Neuroi counter attack, the area is seen to be a prime area to have a new launching point for further allied operations. _

_The order of battle is as follows; the 501__st__ is to join other allied air and naval forces in the amphibious landing operation of Inchon. Your squadron will be operating off the USS Essex of the Liberion 7__th__ fleet which has just arrived in Yokosuka from Guam earlier today. The ground operation will be taken by elements of the 1__st__ Marine Division and ROK Marine unit's. Your mission is to provide air cover and close air support if needed._

_The fate of the Asia-Pacific region lies in that operations success. Without it, we cannot guarantee the safety of the homeland for much longer._

Yoshika put the page down and looked at the globe that stood near the edge of her desk. Giving out one last sigh she stood up and return the page to its folder and placed it in her desk and locked it. She then made towards the door and continued down the hallway to the barracks.

* * *

**Barracks**

Christiane walks in to see her squadron mates sprawled out on their bunks. Sighing, she moves to her bed and sets her stuff down before plopping down.

"How was patrol?" Asuka asked, throwing a small rubber ball against the backboard.

"Fine." Christiane replied quickly. The room fell silent again with nothing but the whir of the heater and the contact between rubber and wood. Then the sounds of footsteps coming from the hall caught their attention. They ceased and looked towards the door when they saw the figure of their commander enter.

"Captain?" Kayo said, surprised.

"What is it cap?" Asuka added. Yoshika stood in the door frame, the light casting an ominous shadow.

"Pack your bags ladies." She said suddenly.

"Wah?"

"What do you mean?"

"Eh?" The girl's response from the order.

"We've just got orders for deployment, we're moving out now so hurry it up and get to flight line." Yoshika said sternly. The girls looked about, confused and unaware of the situation, but they began to open their drawers and pulled out their bags and began unzipping them. Yoshika looked at her watch and back at the room. "I'll be out there, move it, double time."

"Yes ma'am." The group said collectively.

As Miyafuji left the room, Vaughn turned to Kusomoto and leaned in. "What was she talking about?" Kuso shrugged and jerked her head as if to signal to hurry up in which she did.

"Do we bring everything?" Kayo asked, looking at her duffel bag. Christiane shook her head.

"Anything that you need that you think would be necessary."

"Could be another exercise?" Vaughn chimed. Christiane shook her head again.

"She said 'deployment', probably meaning we're goin' somewhere?"

"Where?" Kayo asked, concerned.

"God's would I know? I'm just as clueless as you are," She looked at the clock. "We better get to the flight line." The witches made one final check with their belongings before filing out the door. Veronika, being the last in the group flipped off the switch before closing the door. The girls entered the hanger and were greeted with the booming sound of a jet engine, their commander was already prepped for takeoff.

"Get moving!" She shouted. The witches tightened their gear and hopped into their unit's and began to fill the space with blue light.

"Ether output is normalizing around 95%"

"Magic seal is secured."

"Systems are green, prepped for flight ops." The techs sounded off.

As the engine noise grew, the metallic screeching of the clamps releasing gave way to the unit zooming out of the hanger and into the sky. Soon the other witches joined formation.

"Hey cap? Where are we going exactly?" Asuka inquired.

"Somewhere, just follow my lead." Yoshika put on the façade of an enigma much to the displeasure of her squadron. Soon the flight was over Open Ocean and the witches noticed that Yoshika was scanning the water below.

"What's the Lieutenant doing?" Vaughn leaned in towards Kusomoto.

"I dunno, looking for something? I have no idea?"

Christiane piped up and asked, "Flight lieutenant, what are you looking for exactly?" Yoshika remained silent as she scanned the ocean. Christiane looked at her wing mates and shrugged her shoulders, in which they mimicked the motion until suddenly they saw their commander drop suddenly.

"**COMMANDER**!" Kayo shouted. The witches followed after her, losing her in the clouds.

"Where did she go!?" Claire exclaimed

"Keep going, I think I see some blue down there." The witches kept diving until they broke the cloud cover. They were wide eyed when they came to a stop. Miyafuji was hovering before them.

"Ladies, welcome to our new home." She said as she pointed at the ship's slicing through the water. "Welcome to the 7th fleet girls." The witches clustered around and looked downwards towards the flotilla before flying towards it. Yoshika got on her intercom. "USS Essex, this is Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji, 501st TFS, requesting landing clearance."

[Radio: We read you Flight Lieutenant, deck is clear for the time being, but hurry it up, we have aircraft inbound.]

She turned to her squadron and gave a stern look. "Get down there." The witches followed the order and began landing on the deck. The deck crew were rushing about, grabbing launch unit's to house them and clearing ordinance for the witches to land. Miyafuji was the first to touch down, followed by Chris, Asuka, Kayo and Kusomoto respectively. Vaughn and Veronika were the last to touch down as the rest began to power down. Two men in Khaki's approached the newly arrived flight, one man had the four distinct gold bars on his shoulder board, giving evidence of his rank. The girls abruptly halted their unloading and saluted. The man, stern and weathered by the features of his face, chuckled slightly before saluting in return.

"At ease." He said, causing the witches to relax.

"Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika, 501st TFS, reporting as ordered sir."

"It's an honor to meet you in person for the first time, I've heard of your exploits many years ago."

"Thank you sir."

"*Sigh* I almost forgot, allow me to introduce myself, Captain Austin W. Wheelock, CO of the Liberion Carrier Essex." The captain looked to the man to his right. "This is my XO, Commander Matthew G. Porter." The man stepped out and shook Miyafuji's hand. All the while, deck crews were pushing carts around, still clearing the deck as the rest of the witches just milled about, looking at the various activities. The sound of Props and jets still filled the air and the horns of the ships in the fleet blew in the distance. A sparkle over the horizon caught the eye of the Captain and he looked towards Yoshika. "We'll continue the introductions inside but now we have to make room, I have a flight returning so we'll need the space." Yoshika nodded her head and gestured to her girls to follow. Entering the narrow corridors and hallways, the group entered a rather spacious room, lined with a light blue and ceramic floor.

"This looks like the lounge." Chris noted.

"And you would be correct officer," the captain said quickly. "Make yourselves at home here, we're currently working out accommodations so this is only temporary."

Yoshika looked at the man after putting her bag down, "Thank you Captain."

"No need to thank me, the witches of the Essex's air group decided to open it for you guys."

"Where are they, if I may ask?" Kayo, looking at the large plaque on the wall.

"They're the flight returning from a patrol, they should landing on the deck now." As soon as he said that, the ship's PA system echoed through the room.

**[P.A.: All hands, clear the deck clear the deck, landing operation have commenced, all crews report to your designated stations and recovery crews standby for aircraft and unit recovery.] **

The roar of the accelerating engines resonated around the room. "That's the first one." The captain noted. The sounds returned in five minute intervals until the PA system came over again.

**[P.A.: Aircraft recovery has been completed, all crews return to duty stations.]**

The patter of feet came from the hallway outside, the group looked towards the door and saw the outlying figure crest over the edge before finally revealing itself.

"Captain." The figure said while saluting. The captain saluted back.

"Ah, Lieutenant, how was today's patrol?"

"The usual, nothing again around northeast, same for the south."

"That's good, where're the rest?"

"Harrison and Locke are just getting in, the rest are hitting the hay." The witch looked at the other group of her kind standing behind the captain. "Who are these people?"

The captain looked behind him and began to introduce the 'Strikers'. Yoshika shook the girls hand and said her name. "Flight lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika."

The girl's eye lit up like an awestruck fan, "Lieutenant Melissa H. Childs, I've got to say I never thought a legend would be standing in front of me."

Red formed on Yoshika's cheeks before she could respond with, "Can't say I'm much of a legend, I know people that should be though." As the two continued on the conversation, the rest of the witches just stood idle, glancing around the room.

"Hey, I'm going for a look around." Claire whispered to the group. Chris brought up her finger in protest but Claire was already out the door. She looked at Kuso who shrugged her shoulders before following. The maze of corridors and hallways seemed to stretch for an eternity as Vaughn tried to navigate. As her footsteps echoed through the tube of metal, the sounds of machinery and activity resonated around her, as she rounded the corner, she ran into a mass that seemed to move forwards as she struck it. The sound of something wet hitting the floor followed by a light tap stayed her thoughts. She looked up to see a figure, arched over the spill on the metal floor.

"I'm sorry!" She cried as she immediately searched her body for something to wipe the stain. The figure turned and bent down as well. As if on que, the two came face to face, inches away from each other. Claire's eye's widened as she stared into the eyes opposite of her. She tried to speak but stuttered her words. "Eli…Elizabeth?" she croaked. The face looked up mirrored her expression.

"Claire?" The voice repeated in the same fashion. The two made space and looked at each other once more. They kept repeating each other's names until Claire suddenly jumped forwards and embraced the girl.

"Who is that?" Kayo asked as she and Chris walked towards the couple. They turned the corner and saw the two still holding each other and laughing.

Chris turned to Kayo and shot her a gaze before saying, "Once again, I'm about as clueless as you are." The two watched as the couple came out of their reunion before asking who the mystery girl was. Claire, still glass eyed look at her squadron mates and leaned her head into the girl's shoulder.

"Guys, this is my older sister, Elizabeth T. Vaughn." Before putting her arms around her. Chris and Kayo stood with their mouths open.

"You must be her friends, I hope my little goshawk didn't cause much trouble." Elizabeth joked.

"NO NO!" Kayo waved her hands. "She's a valuable asset to the team!" Chris nodded her head in agreement. Claire's cheeks reddened even darker as her sister curls her arms around her. Suddenly a voice echoed down the corridor.

"**VAUGHN!**" The voiced bellowed.

"WHAT!" The two sister answered. Soon the footsteps echoed closer until the group was faced with the commander officer of both teams.

"Elizabeth? Where were you, I didn't see you follow me in." Melissa asked.

"Sorry lieutenant, but I…." looking to girl next to her. "Had an impromptu family reunion." The two commanders looked aghast at what the girl said.

"You two are sisters?" The two said with surprised tones. Elizabeth nuzzled her nose into her sisters' hair and smiled, not saying anymore.

"*Sigh* Well, flight lieutenant, I guess I know who'll be bunking with my XO for the time being." Melissa joked, patting Yoshika's back.

"*Laugh* I guess so, I mean if you're okay with it." Miyafuji replied, rubbing the part where Melissa struck.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it, it means more sleep for me." Melissa replied, cracking a smirk. Elizabeth shot flustered gazes at her CO, but soon returned to her sister. "But I digress, how about we discuss this in the officer's lounge?" The witches agreed and followed Melissa back to the lounge where Veronika, Kusomoto, and Asuka were still waiting.

"What took you guys so long?" Asuka asked, feet kicked up on the coffee table. Everyone seemed to ignore the question and the group sat down. After a moment of silence, Chris spoke up.

"Um… with all due respect, but now that we're here, do you mind telling us why we're here?"

Yoshika gazed at her equal and nodded, "We're going to Kosun." She said bluntly.

"K..K..Kosun?" Claire stuttered. The CO's felt the wall of unexpectedness hit their subordinates, it took them awhile to fathom.

"We'll be operating off this ship in support of ground units." Yoshika continued. Kuso raised her hand and spoke once she felt Yoshika's gaze fall upon her.

"Are we heading to the frontlines? Pusan?"

"No… we're going to Inchon." She looked around the room to only to receive blank stares. "I'll explain more once we near the operation area, but for now, get unpacked and get some rest, it's going to be a long ride." The witches began to unpack their bags and the Vaughns helped each other while the rest sorted their articles.

As the sun fell behind the horizon, the running lights of the ships were the only thing to illuminate the night. That and the visible glow of Veronika's antenna's as she patrolled around the fleet. Yoshika laid on a cot that sat near the porthole, her body facing the room where her witches slept. Asuka and Chris shared the long couch while Kayo and Kuso unknowingly fought a battle over the ownership of a recliner. On the far end sat the Vaughn's, Claire sleeping snuggly against her sister's body as she quietly hummed a tune into her ear. As the small tuned echoed through the air, Yoshika began to think. Here she was, leading a squadron of her own. She began to think about those times many years ago. The time when she was part of sisterhood that could seem to last for ages, and in some aspects, it did.

* * *

***Flashback, before night fell.***

"Ma'am."

"Yes?"

"You have caller from Karlsland, we have it waiting in the comms room."

Yoshika followed the man out.

"Here you go ma'am." The man said, handing over the phone.

"Thank you." Yoshika replied, taking the phone. "Hello?"

[Phone: How are you doing Miyafuji?]

"Who is this, if I may ask?"

[Phone: You don't remember me? A true soldier of Karlsland never forgets her comrades.]

"I'm not Erica, Barkhorn."

[Phone: I know you're not.]

"*Laugh* so how are things in Karlsland?"

[Phone: Same old, same old. Though the news from Asia has gotten command wrapped up tight.]

"I can tell… have you've heard from Minna, or Erica, or anyone else for that matter?"

[Phone: I've been preoccupied with things recently so unfortunately no, but Frau does visit me once every week.]

"That's good to hear."

[Phone: Yeah… hey, Miyafuji.]

"Yeah?"

[Phone: I keep hearing that your squadrons is getting deployed.]

"Yeah, h..how did you know that?"

[Phone: Anonymous sources.]

"I see."

[Phone: Do... do… is Chris there?]

"Yeah, I can put her on if you want."

[Phone: I'd appreciate that.]

"Hold on for a sec." *Receiver is held downwards as Yoshika calls for Chris*

**Moments later**

"Hello?"

[Phone: Chris?]

"Yeah?"

[Phone: It's me, Trude. Listen to me now, you be safe out there, remember everything that I've told you and you listen to your commanding officer alright?]

"Of course I will."

[Phone: Make sure to always be prepared, always watch your surroundings and lastly and most importantly….]

The sister's in Unison: "Don't be like Frau!" The two laugh over the line.

[Phone: *Sigh* Please be safe Chris.]

"I know."

[Phone: Be sure to send me things, it's payment for everything I've gotten you.]

"***_Giggle_*** I will."

[Phone: I love you Chris.]

"Love you too sis."

[Phone: Thanks… keep in touch.]

"I will."

[Phone: Goodnight.]

"***_Giggle_*** Goodnight."

**A/N's: Hurray for late night publishing (Assuming). But boy was that fun. I hope you guys enjoyed this just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Once again I apologize for the delay but I have been busy with things and plus coming up with new plot elements does take some time but I will always try to keep this story going so as always, please leave a review or critique because it's always appreciated!**

**New O.C. Side Characters! (Not really bio's but little facts, maybe I'll flesh them out at another time)**

**Lieutenant Melissa H. Childs**

**Liberion 7****th**** Fleet**

**USS Essex**

**VF-87**

**Commanding officer of VF-87 witch detachment.**

**Familiar: Liberion/American Shorthair **

**Lieutenant Junior Grade Elizabeth T. Vaughn**

**Liberion 7****th**** Fleet**

**USS Essex**

**VF-87**

**XO (Executive Officer) of VF-87. Older sister of Claire T. Vaughn**

**Familiar: Brown Goshawk**

**Details that you might need to know: **

**The Ranks for Liberion Witches for the Essex will follow the current U.S. Navy ranking system, unlike the RAF Ranking system that I use for the Main Cast. So technically, Melissa is also a Captain. The Captain of the USS Essex is actually the name I put down, the XO is fictional though.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N's: We are back with another installment of Kosun: 1950. From where we left off, the 501****st**** left for the Kosun Peninsula. With the USS Essex and the rest of the 7****th**** fleet steaming through the Fuso Sea, the girls are left to ponder on what they will do once they get to the frontline. So without further ado, onwards to the story!**

**Chapter 4: Blizzard and Typhoon**

**Somewhere in the Fuso Sea**

"Control, patrol pattern over the southeast has been completed, awaiting further."

[Radio: Control copies standby.]

"Standing by," Elizabeth shot a glance at Claire, making a rather amusing face, causing her sibling to giggle silently. "What's taking them so long?" She said aloud before the voice came back, causing her to close her mouth in embarrassment.

[Radio: Whipray, divert course to 1-7-0 and make a final sweep, Sawhound should be finishing their patrol so RV with them.]

"Whipray copies," She looked at her sister. "Control, what do I do about Striker 6?" Claire couldn't stiffen her giggle and began bursting out.

[Radio: Say again?]

"Nothing, we'll see you in a few, Whipray out." Elizabeth shot her sister a wry smile. The two began to giggle again in the comedy of the conversation. After wiping some tears from her eyes, Claire flew in closer, closing the gap between her and Elizabeth.

"So how's everything back home?" She asked. Elizabeth gave the usual expression of 'You know, the normal.'

"Things are pretty quiet over there, mom and dad sent me a letter."

"Really!" Claire cheered. "What did they say?"

Elizabeth gave out a long sigh before saying, "Well, they finally made the down payments on the house, dad says his health is improving and mom said she finally found another job."

Claire smiled, "Well that's good news!" Claire noticed the concerned look in her sister's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's… it's just that I feel bad for them." Elizabeth finally said.

"Why's that?"

"Both of their daughters are off in some faraway land, fighting an enemy that they don't understand," Elizabeth's tone began to tense. "Remember when I told everyone that I signed up?" Claire nodded her head hesitantly. "The look on their faces, it's still ingrained in my mind. That look of despair as if your child died in front of you," The last group of words made Claire stiffen a bit but she returned and edged even closer as Elizabeth continued. "They lost it when you told that you signed up, their faces didn't show it that time but I know, I felt it. I knew how they felt and I still get that feeling now." Elizabeth fished into her pocket and took out a scrap of paper. Just she opened it, she felt herself rock. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw the mass that was Claire as she clung to her waist.

"Is this breaking protocol?" Claire asked softly. Elizabeth looked at her sister and could only smile as the blue eyes buried into her.

"Yes, but this time… I'll make this an exception." Claire laughed before letting go and the two continued their flight path. As the endless ocean passed beneath them, Claire yawned.

"*Yawn* Uhhh… can we go back now?" Claire asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"We're approaching the RV point, we'll meet up with Sawhound and we'll get back in time for dinner, how's that sound?" Claire nodded her head and the two continued. After breaking out of cloud, Elizabeth's radio cackled.

[Radio: Whipray, this is Sawhound, where the hell are you?]

"With a tone like that, you will never impress the ladies." Elizabeth retorted.

[Radio: *Laugh* There you are, eastern sector looks clear and the others can't seem to find anything?]

"I was just about to say that."

[Radio: Who's your wingman?]

"Sibling. You better not doing anything funny, if she tells me anything, I'll rip you a new one Easterland."

[Radio: Woah calm down there, I promise you, but you never told me you had a sister cap.]

"Well now you do." As the two flew along, the flight of 6 F9F Panther's formed up around them, making a V formation with the two witches leading. The lead pilot waved at the younger Vaughn in which she waved back.

[Radio: 2nd Lieutenant James Easterland, Marine Corps Aviation.] The lead pilot introduced himself. Claire waved into the cockpit and saw the pilot wave back before turning to the front.

"Who's that?" Claire whispered, making sure that the radio wasn't on.

"Who? East? He's the CO of VMA-27, he and his boys fly support for us, a backup to a backup so to speak."

[Radio: Hey kid, your sister owes me multiple alcoholic beverages when we get back stateside.]

"Shut it you!" Elizabeth snapping back at the plane behind her. "He's the highest ranking member of his little band so the Captain decided to make him the squadron leader but that may change if HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AGAIN!" The last part being directed towards the pilot.

[Radio: *Laughing* you won't be able to find this batch anywhere else, we're one of a kind.]

"Pfft… unfortunately." Elizabeth muttered.

[Radio: What was that?]

"Keep your eyes straight!" The formation continued their linear path through the clouds, the energetic conversation of before no longer continuing. As the flight broke through a cluster, the air was suddenly alive again.

[Radio 1: Lead, this is two.]

[Radio 2: Go for lead.]

[Radio 1: Sir, I caught a glimpse towards the northwest, bearing 3-2-0.]

[Radio 2: Roger that I see it, you seeing this cap?]

"Negative, what is it?"

[Radio 2: Sawhound 2 saw something to the 3-2-0, let's check it out.]

"Copy, Claire, let's go." The flight veered off to the left and made way to the strange sighting. The air was still clear once they got there, everybody was looking out and scanning the openness of the sky for anything out of place.

[Radio 2: This is lead, that's a negative on unknown, let go h- what the hell is this?]

The air began to fill with white flakes, almost like snow. Claire made a grab for one of the falling particles, palming her hand, she watched as the white flake just withered away as soon as it landed. "This is sure ain't snow." Elizabeth noted, just as she said that, a shrill cry echoed through the air. Claire covered her ears as the sound resonated throughout her body.

[Radio: CONTACT! 12 o' clock high! IT'S COMING OUT OF THE CLOUDS!] One of the pilots shouted. The witches snapped their heads up and saw the oncoming black mass being birthed from the clouds. Instinctively, Elizabeth charged her Browning M2 and jinxed to the right with her sister in tow behind her.

"**BREAK FORMATION! CLAIRE, FOLLOW MY LEAD, EASTERLAND, ATTACK IN PAIRS**!"

[Radio: Sawhound copies, flight, break formation and engage in tandem, give that Neuroi something to shoot at.] The formation broke as soon as the first red wave made its way towards the water. Swinging around, Elizabeth kept the large object in her peripheral vision as she turned tightly to get below it. After reaching the lowest part, the two began zoom climbing, firing their weapons as they went, also receiving return fire which was mitigated by their shields.

"Damn this thing is a tough nut to crack!" Claire said as she changed the belt on her M1919.

"If this thing finds the fleet, it's going to be bad news," Elizabeth got on her intercom and began broadcasting to the area. "Any station this net, this is Captain Elizabeth Vaughn of the Carrier USS Essex, we are in combat with a neuroi at grid reference 249471, requesting assistance." She could only hear static on the other end. She put that aside as she pulled in front of the neuroi and fired into its red hexagon that stood in the center. Just as she was about to move, two Panthers came zooming in, Hispano's blazing.

[Radio: Cap, we can't seem to radio out, all that white stuff is jamming our long range communications.]

"I guess we have to end it here," Elizabeth finally said. "East, are any of your boys armed with HVAR's?"

[Radio: I think number 3 has them, number 3 do you read?]

[Radio 2: Copy lead, we're maintaining a holding pattern just to your south.]

[Radio: Belay that, prep for HVAR attack.]

[Radio 2: Copy that, turning around now.]

"Claire! Get above it and draw its fire!"

"Roger that!" Claire zoomed upwards and fired, blowing chunks off the top of the Neuroi exterior. "LIZ! I THINK I FOUND A WEAK POINT!" Claire shouted.

"Where!?"

"The upper portion!"

"Roger, Number 3 did you get that?"

[Radio: Making final run, prepping for HVAR fire in 3..2..1.. Rockets away, rockets away.]

As the small missiles slid off the racks, Claire flew back to escape the blast radius as the missiles made direct impacts on the exterior.

"Good effect, good effect!" Elizabeth repeated as she heard the Neuroi shriek. She moved to close distance with the wounded attacker and began firing and flying low off the exterior. The planes continued to fire and circle around, causing more damage. One cannon round struck in front of Elizabeth and from the impact hole, she saw an aura that could only be associated with the core. Before she could act, the black hexagons reformed and a beam came straight towards her but she dodged it time before climbing back up to the same location.

"LIZ GET OUT OF THERE!" Claire shouted, concerned with her sister's position. Elizabeth didn't move, her body seemed fixated on that spot. Giving out a loud gasp, Claire deviated from her course and made her way to Elizabeth but she was stopped short when a blue aura almost blinded her. "AHH!" She shrieked as she shielded her eyes. Opening them, she saw her sister glowing a bright blue and the color seemed to bleed around her. She watched as her sister raised her weapon, pointed at one of the black hexagons before pulling the trigger.

***BANG**!*

A fusillade of magic infused .50 caliber BMG rounds smashed their way through the shell. The relentless firing continued until a loud shattering sound was heard and the Neuroi let out a deafening shriek before it glowed white and exploded into the white flakes from earlier. Claire opened her eyes after having them shut and saw the white flakes fall around her. In front of her was Elizabeth, still holding her weapon in firing position. Claire gently moved forwards until suddenly she saw her sister drop and make way towards the blue ocean. "**ELIZABETH!"** Claire cried as she blew downwards at high speeds. Seeing the figure falling further and further away, Claire's eyes began to well up as she screamed her sister's name again. Exiting the cloud cover, Claire watched as her sister's shadow drew closer and closer to its partner. She put out her hand as if to reach for her just as her sister disappeared into a flume of water that rose high into the air. "**ELIZAABEETHHH**!" She roared once again. In her grief, she noticed that there was a single white contrail that led out of the plume and into the clouds again. She quickly tried to recompose herself but the tears still persisted as she flew upwards. She stopped as she entered a space in the clouds and looked around. "Elizabeth?" She croaked.

"I'm right here…." A voice said softly from behind her. Claire turned around and saw the figure of her sister, held in the arms of another witch, her skin as white as the clouds around her.

"Ver...Veronika?" Claire asked. It indeed was Veronika, the Orussian night witch was holding the older Vaughn in her arms, her striker unit removed.

"I was on patrol when I heard your distress call, I couldn't really make it out due to the jamming but I went on with my instinct and now we find ourselves here." Elizabeth made an effort to sit up but the pain kept her back.

"Da..damn it sis, why do you always follow me?"

Claire rushed forwards and gave her sister a warm embrace as the tears she tried to hold back came loose again. After a moment, the two let go and the now group of three began to make their way through the sky. Behind them, they heard the drone of a jet engine and Claire turned to see the 6 Panthers forming up behind them.

[Radio: Cap! Are you alright?] Easterland asked quickly.

"I… I'm fine East, no thanks to you." Elizabeth said jokingly.

[Radio: *Sigh* Thank god, I take everything that I've ever said to you back.]

"You better, I was about to make you take it back anyway, regardless of the situation."

[Radio: Almost dying and being saved at the last second and you're still as hard as ever.]

"You know it."

[Radio: Hey, Claire?]

Claire turned to look at the pilot in the cockpit. "Hm?"

[Radio: You take care of her alright? She maybe a pain to take orders from but I'll have her in the sky with me anytime.]

Elizabeth laughed. "Pfft, you keep dreaming that East, you just keep on dreaming that." Leaving the falling flakes behind them, the flight continued onwards towards the setting sun. Claire drew closer to Veronika who was still scanning the area's ahead.

"Hey, Veronika?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks… for everything." Claire said softly. The Orussian's skin turned red as she felt the warmness through the cold air.

"It's… it's okay…." As they continued, Veronika saw lights in the distance. "There they are." She said suddenly before dropping altitude. Claire and the Panthers followed suite. Breaking through the cloud cover, the moving masses below them were finally revealed. "Control, this is Striker 7, we have a medical emergency, requesting immediate landing clearance."

[Radio: Copy, adjust heading to 1-1-0, medical teams on standby.]

* * *

**USS Essex**

**Flight Deck**

[P.A.: Medical teams report to the flight deck and standby for triage after touchdown, all personal man you stations, recovery crew standby for aircraft and unit recovery.]

"The hell is going on?" Asuka said bluntly as she dried her hair.

"Must be another drill." Kayo replied as she donned her uniform. Suddenly, the sounds of steps on metal echoed through until suddenly a figure appeared at the door. "Captain?"

"It's Vaughn, something happened." Yoshika said quickly before running off. The two witches were left bewildered, they looked at each other and hastened their dressing before rushing out the door to follow. Navigating down the corridor, they saw that the ship's crew were running about to their stations. They followed the sounds of engines and loud activity and exited to the flight deck, hitting a cool breeze as they exited. Kayo glanced to her right and saw men with red crosses on their uniforms and a stretcher lying in wait.

"**HERE THEY COME**!" One of the men shouted, pointing towards the stern. All eyes fixated on the green light that was edging closer and closer. Soon the light hovered over the center of the deck and began descending until the sound of metal and metal gave evidence of contact. Soon the lone figure was rushed by the entourage waiting on deck but not until it gently let down its passenger onto a stretcher.

"Oh… my…" Melissa stuttered, seeing her friend's body being carried. She rushed forwards and quickly grasped her hand. As the tears welled up she felt a tight squeeze that caused her to pause for a moment.

"I swear Melissa… your crying is going to keep me up at night." Elizabeth said weakly, but still showing wit. Melissa looked down at her XO and her grim look brightened before turning sour again and giving a ripe smack to the face.

***SLAP**!*

"OW!" Holding her cheek, Elizabeth glanced at the fire in her CO's eyes. "Alright… I guess you could do that."

"Never… ever… leave me like this." Melissa said sternly, clenching her fist.

"Alright, alright, I got it. I'll be sure to leave a card before leaving."

***SLAP**!*

"Alright, I deserved that one." Melissa let go of her XO's hand and made her way to the Orussian who was just disengaging her striker unit. She planted herself firm as if she prepared to receive order but was greeted with an enormous hug which shocked her slightly.

"Thank you…." Melissa whispered before letting go and heading off to follow the medical team. Her face red, Veronika was approached by her commander with her squadron mates by her side.

"You did good out there Veronika." Miyafuji said, smiling modestly. This caused the Orussian to smile in return as she was bombarded with compliments from Christiane, Kayo, and the others. Claire jumped and tackled the Orussian to the ground with child-like affection. The group had a good laugh and when all was finally said and done, the group remained on the deck, looking into the night sky which illuminated the clouds. With the cold air and the sounds of rubber hitting the deck, the witches took a good look at the sky. They thought about the battle to come, they made peace in their minds and sought to tighten their bonds, knowing that any day could be their last.

**A/N's: Whew! Late worker on this one. I apologize for the late update, I've been kinda busy with school related things so time to write is limited, but I do try to work in the spare time that I do have. I hope that you guys enjoyed this portion and if you would like, please leave a review and a critique because it's always appreciated! And if you like the story so much, leave a follow or a favorite because that's cool too!**

**Things to know about: 2****nd**** Lieutenant Easterland does seem to be bit low ranked to be the commander of a squadron, but being that the squadron only consist of himself and 5 others, majority of which are the same rank as him, it was more like a drawing straws for the CO's spot kind of deal.**

- **F9F Panthers carrying HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets). They did indeed carry HVAR's but not for an air-to-air roll for obvious reasons. The idea behind that was that since the Neuroi flyers are usually of immense size, it wouldn't be surprising that shooting rockets from a fighter and hitting the target didn't require much skill for something the size of a ship and even bigger. Hitting it with rockets would give aircraft more effective fighting potential in combat being that large types don't usually dogfight (Unless it unleashed drones)**

- **The white flakes are similar to those in the movie, they jam long-range communication but there are gaps where the pilots and the witches were able to talk to each other on short ranges. It may not be accurate but it was the only thing I could think of at the time.**


End file.
